Cheery Placemats

My friend picked up a pattern for some place mats and these fun, spring colors.  She pieced squares, slashed, stitched those together, slash and so on.  The resulting made fabric is bright and cheery.

I cut the made fabric into two pieces to get it onto the frame with the most effective use of the batting and backing.

I learned this all-over quilting design while taking a class with Erin Underwood.  A simple clam shell surrounded by a couple rows of petals.  This one is fun and really adds a nice effect to the surface.  It is also easy to move around as you can echo petals or sneak in another clam shell or two.

On the back, you can really see the quilting design.

Top thread is Fantastico from Superior Threads.  This is a dye sample, so I can't tell you if it will be available in the future.  I love the surprise threads I can get from them with their Try Me specials.  I used a yellow So Fine! #50 (color 514, Polo) in the bobbin so it would mostly match the top thread and blend with the back.  Matching a bobbin thread to some variegated threads is a challenge.  I like the little bit of visual interest that these threads create, but I don't want the bobbin thread to sneak onto the top and show up when I don't want it to.

After pulling it all off the frame, I trimmed the two large pieces and cut out six place mats.  The all over quilting was a great option for this.  I'm glad I quilted it as two large pieces and then cut it down.  It takes the design right over the edges and I really like the effect.  It also means that all six place mats are the same size since they were cut from the quilted piece.

Free Motion Quilting

Today the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild hosted a free motion quilting class by Erin Underwood.  I have never taken a quilting class, so this was a new thing for  me.  Yes.  I am a crazy quilt lady that has never taken a quilt class.  (I suppose I have taken online classes, but this is my first real, in-person class.)

We started with meanders and loops and swirls.  The problem with sharing samples is that I may get a little off-task and quilt something we haven't covered yet.  We spent about three hours going over different designs and how there are stitched.  I used my thrift store Singer for this class.  I didn't have the right foot for the job, but I managed. 

The best part about this is  that I might be able to move on from the simple meander when quilting smaller pieces on my domestic sewing machine.  I learned a couple things and the best part is that I think I may have figured out feathers.  Before today, I just had difficulty working the petals back to the center in a cleean way.  Today, I think my feathers don't suck!  Such an improvement.

Thread used is So Fine #50 from Superior Threads.  For the record, I love this thread as much as all the other Superior Threads I have tried.

There was a question about what that "#50" means when talking about thread.  If you want to know more about how this measurement is derived, please go check out some of the great information on the Superior Threads site.  Click here for a direct link to the article about how thread is measured.

Iron Lady, Day Three: Comparisons

Tuesday afternoon I had a chance to spend a couple hours working on cleaning the machine head.  I've put together the before/after pictures as best I could.  I would like to think I'm a better artist than I am a photographer since I didn't match up my before/after shots very well.

The face-plate on the machine is very pretty.  I could have scrubbed some more, but figured I had gotten the worst of it off.  At least the screw heads are clean.

I didn't get as much of the old, dry and caked oil off the tension disks as some other areas, but they are clean on the inside.  I think it looks much better, though.

I was really surprised to see how much nicer the decals look in the after picture.  Sure shined up that cover plate, but the decals are really showing now.

I didn't get all of the rust off of the hand-wheel, but I managed to get most of it.  Such a pretty little thing, isn't she?

I didn't get every bit off the underside, but I did spend some time cleaning up the worst of it.  I was really lucky to find a machine where everything moved, so I'm not going to complain about a little dried oil that doesn't affect operation.

This picture is a little weird, since I took one from each side of the machine.  I'm just happy I didn't damage the decals in my cleaning.  This is the decal in the center of the machine bed.

I realized, after some cleaning, that I had read the serial number incorrectly.  It doesn't change her age or place of birth, but it is nice to know I have the right number written down in my records.

I thought this one of the stitch-length adjustment screw and the bobbin winder was the most dramatic.  Surface rust removed and everything oiled up.  I am overly excited about seeing a bobbin wound on this machine.  Silly, but I'm still excited.

All that remains is to set her back in the cabinet, attach the belt and do some test sewing.  Since I moved every adjustment screw all the way out and all the way in while cleaning and oiling, I'm sure it will take me a little while to get her stitching predictably.

My references for this project include:

The Treadle Lady
Web:  http://treadlelady.com
Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TreadleLady

Our Handmade Home
Blog:  http://our-handmade-home.blogspot.com/p/singer-sewing-machine.html

Granny Miller:  A Journal of Agrarian Life & Skills
Blog:  http://www.granny-miller.com/

A-1 Sewing Machine Specialists
Singer No. 66 Manual:  http://www.a1sewingmachine.com/manuals/66.pdf

I am not an expert at refinishing.  I am not an expert and sewing machine care or maintenance.  I am a quilter, sewer and sewing machine enthusiast.  My goal is a working treadle sewing machine.

Iron Lady Day One - Cleaning up the cabinet and base

Iron Lady Day Two - The before pictures.

Iron Lady Day Three - Comparisons

Iron Lady, Day Two: The before pictures.

This post is going to be filled with some before pictures.  This is going to take a while to work through, so I don't expect much in the way of glamor shots for a while.  For the record, if you see something that looks like rust, it is more likely dirty oil that is really stuck on.  Only a few spots on this machine are really rusty.  They aren't spots that will affect the function, so I'm going to just clean them up as best I can and get her sewing.  The old, dirty, stuck on oil I'm going to do my best to remove.

The underside looks good overall, but does need a good cleaning.  I'm not interested in learning how to set timing, so I'm not going to take anything timing-related apart.

She looks so small when you remove her from the case.

The bobbin tire is dry-rotted and flat on one side.  I ordered some replacements.  They arrived today in the mail along with some extra bobbins.  I have plenty of plastic bobbins to fit a 66, but wanted the metal bobbins.  There is some rust on the bobbin gearing, but nothing that will likely keep me from winding bobbins.  I really want to see this one wind a bobbin.  I've seen a couple on the internet, but I want to see my machine do it.

The top tensioner is really gunked up with old oil.  The disks are actually very clean inside.

I love the scroll-work on the face plate.

A little bit of rust on the balance-wheel and the stop-motion screw, but they both do the jobs they were intended to do, so it isn't an issue.

Look, more fancy work on the back.  I'm sure I can get this piece to shine, too.  Behind that plate everything looks pretty good.  Getting everything lubed up so no gunk slows her down will be the best thing.

For the most part, the surface and the decals are in pretty good shape.  This is likely the worst single spot on the machine.  Since my main purpose for this machine is the ability to sew even without power, this is just not an issue for me.  I will admit I love how the red is a deep, turkey red.

Here are most of  my tools for this project.  The most important things, which aren't on the table, are my two hands and the willingness to spend the time cleaning her up.  I suppose I could have just done some oiling, put the belt on and got sewing, but I would really like to give her the best opportunity to shine.

My references for this project include:

The Treadle Lady
Web:  http://treadlelady.com
Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TreadleLady

Our Handmade Home
Blog:  http://our-handmade-home.blogspot.com/p/singer-sewing-machine.html

Granny Miller:  A Journal of Agrarian Life & Skills
Blog:  http://www.granny-miller.com/


A-1 Sewing Machine Specialists
Singer No. 66 Manual:  http://www.a1sewingmachine.com/manuals/66.pdf

I am not an expert at refinishing.  I am not an expert and sewing machine care or maintenance.  I am a quilter, sewer and sewing machine enthusiast.  My goal is a working treadle sewing machine.

Iron Lady Day One - Cleaning up the cabinet and base

Iron Lady Day Two - The before pictures

Iron Lady Day Three - Comparisons